A big fan of the game of baseball itself, who just happens to have no favorite team.

Main menu

Post navigation

Best Players Going Into 2013–By Age

The first players reported to Spring Training nearly two weeks ago, however, the first official games are taking place today. The Tigers are set to take on the Braves at 1:05 EST, with the Reds-Indians, Royals-Rangers and Padres-Mariners games all beginning at 3:05 EST. The remaining teams are all playing their first game on Saturday.

With the first official baseball games of the season starting up, I wanted to take the time to post a “top players” list, of sorts, but instead of making my own version of a top 10 list, or whatever, I decided to make a list of the top player for each year of age throughout Major League Baseball. Meaning, of the 20 year olds in MLB, I’ll list the player I feel is the overall best of them all. With the same holding true for the players age 21, 22, 23, 24, and so on.

The range of ages runs from 20 years old, with Bryce Harper, Manny Machado, etc., all the way up to age 43, with Mariano Rivera. Just so you know, I’m going by the age each player will be to start the season. Therefore, a few players will be listed a year older than they currently are, due to them having a birthday between now and April 1st.

With there being SO many names, I’m not going to be listing my reasoning behind each pick; just a general list with players’ names. The player I feel is the best for their age category can be either a position player, or a pitcher:

20 years old: Bryce Harper

21 years old: Mike Trout

22 years old: Shelby Miller

23 years old: Giancarlo Stanton

24 years old: Stephen Strasburg

25 years old: Clayton Kershaw

26 years old: Felix Hernandez

27 years old: Evan Longoria

28 years old: Prince Fielder

29 years old: Miguel Cabrera

30 years old: Justin Verlander

31 years old: Josh Hamilton

32 years old: C.C. Sabathia

33 years old: Albert Pujols

34 years old: Cliff Lee

35 years old: Roy Halladay

36 years old: Michael Young

37 years old: David Ortiz

38 years old: Derek Jeter

39 years old: Ichiro Suzuki

40 years old: Andy Pettitte

41 years old: Henry Blanco

42 years old: Jason Giambi

43 years old: Mariano Rivera

So, there you have it. The best players by age, in my opinion, from 20 through 43, going into the 2013 season. Do you agree with my picks? If not, who would you pick to replace the name(s) you disagree with? Let me know in the comments section below.